It is known in the state of the art to use an armoured door controlling the passage between the cockpit and the cabin of an airliner so as to protect the crew from malicious acts by a passenger. However, such a system does not prevent the intrusion of malicious persons into the cockpit when a member of the crew is leaving it.
In general terms, it would be beneficial to be able to increase security in the cockpit or, more generally, when a person wishes to pass from a first compartment to at least a second compartment of an aircraft. It would also be beneficial to have available a solution for secure access from a first compartment to at least a second compartment of an aircraft that is relatively compact and does not unduly encroach on the available space in one of the compartments.
A subject of the invention is a secured vestibule allowing communication between several aircraft compartments, the secured vestibule being installed in an area of the aircraft situated between a first compartment and at least a second compartment, characterized in that it comprises two mobile partitions (30, 31) in the form of concentric portions of cylinders, each of the partitions being capable of independent movement about a common axis (41), so as to form between them a single opening (24, 36) which, depending on the relative position of the partitions, gives access to one or other of the compartments, the two partitions being capable of moving on two concentric cylinders having different diameters.
An opening for access to a compartment is created by means of a simple movement of the partitions in relation to each other.
The concentric arrangement of the partitions allows the space requirement of the access door to be reduced and the relative movement of the partitions takes place within the volume defined by said concentric arrangement. Thus, the use of the secured vestibule to allow a person to move from a first compartment to a second compartment encroaches on the available space in the second compartment only to a limited extent or not at all.
Moreover, inasmuch as the partitions pivot on themselves and there is no longer a door to be opened onto the inner space of the second compartment, the risk of a malicious person hiding close to the door when it is closed, and behind it when it is open, is eliminated or in any case greatly reduced.
The movement of the partitions is for example a rotational movement about the common axis. The cylindrical portions are arranged concentrically about said axis.
It will be noted that more than two compartments can be served by the access door and thus be connected two by two.
The access door is for example arranged in a wall separating two compartments from each other or within a set of several walls separating more than two compartments (2, 3, 4 etc.) from each other.